Newspapers come off the press at approximately 75,000 copies per hour. Thereafter, the products themselves, or sections to be inserted therein, must be carried to various pieces of equipment for further processing. This is usually done by means of a chain conveyor on which are mounted a plurality of grippers. The grippers clamp the edge of the newspaper and hold it securely. When it is to be delivered to the next machine for processing, it is necessary to release the grippers.
However, due to the high speed at which they move, coupled with the reaction time of previously known devices, it is difficult to reliably release the papers and deposit them on a belt or other carrier for the next process step.